't is these men that incourage offensive and indecent behaviour for many of their hearers though they are present at Prayers yet never observe any thing that the Rubrick directs to be performed but sit and loll and stare about and endeavour as much as they can to seem unconcern'd in what is done till the Minister goes into his Pulpit for they came to Church only for the sake of what is done there lest they be thought to approve the Common Prayers these I sear conceit that they do well in this from observing the slightness of such Ministers in Reading the Prayers or at least it prevents that conviction which such might receive from the devout and reverend performing the same by others and I believe this because in those Churches where the Minister is very devout in Reading the Service I could never observe any such behaviour so that either such people seldom come to such Churches and I think giving more scandal by their ill Example than they receive benefit by the Service they were better be absent or else the power of a Devout Performance is such that they cannot but be inclin'd to imitate it Therefore if there be any such imployed in the Ministry of this Church as I have cause to fear there are that Read ill on this account I earnestly intreat that they will reflect on the indecency and ill consequences of such practices and as a Remedy hereof that they will consult the most learned and judicious that are devout of our Church for suller Satisfaction in the Reasonableness and Excellency of our Service that so they may perform it more Reverently and Affectionately to the Honour of God and the Peoples Edification and this they will find to be more comfortable to themselves and of better acceptance with all good men than halting between Two Opinions For it is evident that if there were any thing sinful in the performance they ought not to have undertaken it at all for Evil must not be done that Good may come But if there be only a defect of some degrees of Goodness in this Service then Reason requires that they do not make it worse by an ill performance but that they do make the best of it for effecting the ends to which it is designed viz. God's Honour and our Spiritual Consolation Yet those that Read ill on the account of such Error are more to be pitied and less condemned than those that do so out of a kind of Carnal Wisdom yet such there are I mean those who are very unwilling to seem Zealous and Devout in that which is condemned by a great Party of Men because they may some time or other be uppermost and indeed when such men can stand as fair for Preferment for the present as the most devout and yet have the good Opinion of those in whose power it may be to prefer them hereafter there may be many temptations of this kind especially among a People consisting of Parties that bear an equal Balance and therefore the Consideration of this is not to be despised Men are apt to think they may serve God and Mammon but it cannot be 't is true we may and must become all things to all men that we may win some but in this they rather win us than we them if it may be called a winning when for fear that a Party may prevail we are indevout in what we own for the Worship of God and indeed we shall never win them from their Errors by such compliance for the reason of all mankind must agree that men may not serve their own Carnal Interests to the prejudice of that Worship whereby God is most eminently Served and Honoured in the World And whilst these men acknowledge our Liturgy to be such none can approve their indevout performance for fear of being esteemed High Church Men and of losing their Interest in that they call the Moderate Party nor will any of that Party ever be brought from the admiration of the Ex tempore Way by such kind of politique Readers And yet I believe these men do mistake their Interest I mean even in things Temporal for the Pious of every Party agree in this that men should have an hearty Zeal in the Way of Worship they use and do abhor such men as prefer their own Interest before God's Honour Now if Times should change a man formerly Zealous in the Way of the Church of England if he should see Cause to change with them as he may sometimes do would have as kind Reception among such as those that were afraid to be zealous for fear of offending them and they would be more apt to glory in bringing one such devout man to their way than in the Conformity of many such luke-warm worshippers And for those that in all ways of Religion make Gain their Godliness and only follow Christ for the Loaves and Fishes they are for shutting out as many as they can on any pretence from sharing in the Benefits of their Church-Order and think the fewer the better chear they will be sure to exclude from preferment those that fared well in the times that were ill with them whether they were zealous in the contrary way or not by such terms of Communion as they shall very hardly comply with or if they have a Latitude beyond men's reach in that kind 't is ten to one but the want of the fear of God will betray them to some vices that will spoil the comfort of all their worldly enjoyments and make them less happy than the greatest sufferers for Nonconformity can be But lastly if Carnal Wisdom should so discern the inconsistency of such Vices with this Worldly Happiness as on that account they should avoid them yet the loss of the Endless Joys of Heaven which such shall never obtain will detect the folly of this sinful Indifference and carnal Compliances I fear these kind of Men will but deride me for all this and be more hardly perswaded to be truly zealous and devout Readers than either the Profane or Erroneous because they have less sense of the things of another Life and what relates thereunto then either of them Concerning the later there is no question and of the former not much for the cares of the World and deceitfulness of Riches are named before the Pleasures of other things in choaking the Heavenly Seed viz. The Doctrine of Eternal Life For though Sensual Pleasures are of another Nature and have other Objects than Spiritual and are therefore called the Pleasures of other things and upon that account must needs discompose the Mind and make it unfit to conceive or injoy the Delights and Pleasure of Communion with God and his Saints in these Holy Exercises yet because we are many times uncapable of such Sensual Pleasures and satiety oft turns to loathing especially for a time this helps men to see the vanity thereof so that they may be disposed by good counsel at such
there is positive Sin or great Inconvenience in the things recommended thereby before we venture to contradict or oppose them We are commanded to give no Offence to the Jew nor Greek nor Church of God whereas it seems to me by forsaking these solemn Acts of Adoration we offend them all And I verily believe nothing more perswades the Papists of the Goodness of their own Religion and makes them think ill of ours than observing the Decency of these solemn Actions so frequently used in their publick Service and that it scarce looks like the Worship of God where they are wholly omitted as they are in some Protestant Churches and in all Nonconformists Meetings and too much in our Parochial Assemblies also But it is not only the avoiding Offence that should recommend these solemn Actions and especially that of Bowing but many great Reason 1. There is nothing more effectual to impress on the mind a sence of God's Presence than this action of Bowing before him It is impossible a Man can use such an Action but he must think there is some One present to whom it is performed and where Men have not a true belief of God's presence and are conscious unto themselves of that defect it will seem so unreasonable and foolish to perform such acts of Adoration that they will be hardly perswaded thereunto And for this reason when the World became so carnaliz'd by indulging their brutish Part that they could scarce have any apprehension of invisible Things but by the help of something that was the Object of their Senses they invented Images to represent the invisible Powers they worshipped and fancied that by their Incantations and Charms their Gods were drawn to inhabit those Images by which means they found they were helped in performing those Acts of Adoration to them But the only living and true God hath utterly forbidden any such Representations of himself as being a dishonour to the infinite Glory and Spirituality of his Nature but yet requires External Worship from us in acknowledgment than he is every where present but especially in the Assemblies that meet to do him honour and service and that he and he only is to be feared and had in reverence of all that are about him and if we would perform this act of Adoration as we ought we should find great help thereby against the weakness of our Faith and the dulness of our Spiritual Sence and it would beget in us such an habitual apprehension of God's spiritual and invisible Presence that it would be as a new nature or principle of spiritual and holy Life in all other things I say if we perform it as we ought because I would have none think that I impute a Magical Force to this Action as if all that do it on what account soever should become inspired with such an habitual sence of God and his universal Presence For I know that where this is in repute Men may be very observant thereof for carnal ends and be inwardly Atheistical and outwardly prophane still but if it be done with a design to signifie our belief of God's presence and our awful sence of his infinite Glory and Greatness it hath tendency to work a habit of spiritual sensibility in this matter and by the efficacie of the same we shall be continually kept in the fear of offending God and excited to all holy and vertuous Actions that are pleasing to him which I think is a very weighty matter Besides it prepares and disposes our minds to the performance of all the Offices of Divine Worship whereby we explicate the signification of such acts of Adoration and therefore it hath been used to be done at our first coming into the Church that we may remember what we are chiefly to intend in all we do there viz. The Worship and Honour of Almighty God The want of this consideration is a cause of great mischiefs in the Church Men have learnt to think that all the Ministries of Religion are intended to work on their Affections and Passions and to gratifie a Religius Fancy and so they judge they are best ordered when they serve most effectually to that end and upon this account it is that they condemn the Common Prayer as a dead Form and cry up the Extempore Way as the only acceptable Mode of serving God And while they thus judge they are subject to be drawn into Schism and Errour by every subtile Seducer that can handle the Instrument of his Tongue well and affect their minds with some devout Passions For so long as they think That Way of Religion best which most affects them Novelty having a great force in that matter and Men that design to serve their Interests by making Disciples being apt to bend their minds most strenuously to study to speak to Mens passions Men can never be fix'd in any way of Religion But now if they were once perswaded that those publick Administrations are best which serve most fitly to the Worship and Adoration of the Deity and are most advantageous for the conjunction of these solemn Actions which I here speak of it would be hard for them to find any better than ours among those which separate from us For the better understanding the beginning of the foregoing Paragraph wherein I say That in the Offices of Divine Worship we explain the signification of the acts of Adoration I must observe 1. That as the Worship we perform to God by humbly bowing down in our approach to his glorious Majesty doth declare our obligation unto all we perform in the following Offices so those Offices do contain the explication of the Worship we thereby give to the Almighty For since we declare by that action that we worship him as the only true God we oblige ourselves to perform that service which Deity makes his due and this we do when we give him thanks for the great benefits we have received at his hands and set forth his most worthy praise when we attend diligently to his holy Word and seek at his hands things requisite and necessary for Body and Soul for by these things we do acknowledge him to be the Fountain of our Being and of all the benefits whereof we are Partakers and to be the free and gracious Donor thereof and that he is most worthy of all the Praise and Glory that we can give him as by reason thereof so also because of the infinite Perfections of his Nature and his mighty and wonderful Works which we behold That he is infinite Wisdom and Truth and to be believed in all that be reveals to us That he is our only supream Law-giver and to be obeyed in all that he commands us That he is our Soveraign Lord and our Weal or Wo doth wholly depend on his Favour or Displeasure and that no Arts or Labours of our own can secure us against Misery or instate us in true Felicity whether it be internal or external present or future but
Tragical Story as to the Worship of God But though Nature only teacheth the use of such Behaviour in worshipping God as is most expressive of our Reverence towards him and Custom may make some variation of those Expressions yet this Act of Bowing seems so naturally fit to express Reverence and so decent that it hath become Universally 〈◊〉 mary and is never like to be determined by contrary Custom or disparaged by hard Names except amongst such as themselves I know that it is also said that the Act of Parliament forbids the use of any other Ceremonies than what are mentioned in the Rubrick and that this being not mentioned it would be an act of Disobedience to use it To which I answer That the natural Expressions of Worship and Reverence to Almighty God cannot be there meant for then lifting up the Hands and Eyes to Heaven may be thought forbidden as well as this which I think none will affirm But as God himself hath not instituted any thing positively no not in the time of the Law when he was as it were the Temporal Monarch of the Jews about his Natural Worship such as was performed in their Synagogues so our Governours have not thought fit to institute anything in this Case but leave it to be done by every one as his Devotion moves him but certainly they never intended to forbid it as is here suggested It is also said by some that it may make the Service of God seem ludicrous by being done too much and every one hath not discretion to do it as he ought and will be apt to exceed that the Papists are grown to such an extream in this action of Bowing and such Gesticulations about it that their Service is ridiculous to Protestants c. To which I answer As to the Papists I can be no Judge in that matter because I never saw the full Order of their Service but I know that many esteem ill of things they are not used to without just cause the use of Musick and Artificial Singing of Responses and Alternate Readings in Divine Service seem ridiculous to some that have been educated in another Way Besides what the Papists are thought to exceed in is matter of Institution the time and place of their Bowing Crossing c. being directed by their Rubrick as I have read but that which I speak of is a matter of Liberty in which I never saw or heard that there was excess That People left at liberty should be too much in bowing their Heads and Knees in Adoration of him they worship in lifting up their Hands and Eyes to Heaven in expression of their fervent affection in Prayer c. seems to me no way to be feared 'T is like some few especially of the younger sort that are much affected by observing the decency of this in some Ministers that practise it being such as by the holiness of their Life and excellency of their Doctrine have obtained a great reverence with them I say they may seem and I think but seem too zealous in this matter but as the generality are far enough from that fault and more like to be ashamed to do what their Consciences tell them is very decent especially when done by grave Men than to exceed therein so I think the fear of it should deter no Man from recommending a due and decent Performance which is all this Paper aims at But supposing this to be true that Men do or may thus exceed it seems an ill way of arguing That because a thing may be over-done therefore it should not be done at all Some find fault with Extempore Prayers that they are too long and others with ours in the Common Prayer that they are too short Should any Man now say 'T is best then to have no Prayers at all yet 't is aâ— much reason in this case as the other Meâ— will never be of one mind in the measure of these things while they are of different affection the Formal will condemn the Devouâ— of Excess as they do them of Defect buâ— when Reason is consulted all will agree thâ—â— something of this kind is decent and therefore methinks after there hath been among uâ— so long a total omission of this way of expressing Devotion none should blame my Essay tâ— recommend it Though I have said thus much in favour of Bowing which our Church leave to every ones liberty yet I would not be thoughâ— so confident in my Assertions herein as to coâ—demn all that do not hold or practise as I do but I humbly offer this as other things to the consideration of the Wise being willing to reform any thing in my thoughts or actions that I shall be convinced to be amiss And do believe that those Church-men who use not this action have better reason for it than I am aware of or else on farther consideration may do as most Churches in the World and most of their Brethren have given them example I shall farther observe as to this matter of God's Worship That God expects such Worship from us as is sutable to the Revelations he hath made of himself It was cause of his great displeasure against the Gentile World that when they knew him to be God they did not worship him as God when his eternal Power and Godhead though invisible in itself was made evident by the Works of his Creation which they had continually before their eyes whereby they might have learnt to worship him as an infinite incorruptible Spirit yet they would worship him under the Resemblances of Corruptible Things which was a dishonour to the Eternity and Omnipotency of his Divine Nature But now our blessed Saviour hath farther revealed the incomprehensible Deity as subsisting in a Trinity of Persons in the Vnity of its Essence and as manifested in our Flesh in the second Person of that blessed Trinity which revelation of God requires something peculiar in the matter of Divine Worship from us Christians It hath been received as a matter of Faith by the Catholick Church That the Trinity in Unity and the Unity in Trinity is to be worshipped and that our blessed Saviour as God and Man is to be honoured as we honour the Father Now it seems to me that there is such an excellent Order in our Liturgy for the performance of the Worship of God and our blessed Saviour according to these Evangelical Revelations that 't is scarce to be equalled in any other Way especially that which is set up in competition with it And I doubt not all those that will impartially consider the Responses the Te Deum the Gloria Patri which we so frequently use because it is suitable to this Gospel-Worship of which yet some complain there is great defect in our Liturgy as also the Creed the Letany and the Communion-Service and how God in these is honoured as Three Persons and yet but one God and our Saviour invocated and acknowledged as God-man advanced to